Learning That Gets Made in 2nd Grade (#SOL15, Day 5)

Stop Holding Us Back (M.A. Reilly, 2014)

I.

I spent yesterday teaching small groups of second graders from Newark Public Schools as their teachers and other visitors looked on. These are children I have taught before. We have shared good books together and so the work unfolds in ways that are both predictable and not. During the morning session, one group of children partner-read The Emperor's New Clothes and then independently wrote responses to three questions. The teachers and I reviewed their work during lunch. Rather than traditional guided reading, this type of guidance focuses more exclusively on comprehension. Reading their written responses allows me to see some of the confusions the children have about the text--and it is a complicated text to read--as well as what they seem to understand. This knowledge helps me to plan for a possible conversation the children and I will have after lunch.

II.

It's 1:30 in the afternoon when I meet with the children again and what is most noticeable, and not surprising, is that all of them from time to time offer responses that are not rooted in the actual text at all, but rather represent truths they know and want to apply. We talk for an hour and the children work hard to determine why the emperor continues parading without his clothing after he hears the child say he is wearing no clothes.  Edmund offers that the emperor doesn't believe the child. Juliana says that's not true and is able to locate in the text where the emperor directly states that he believes the child. This prompts all of us to reconsider what else might be influencing the emperor to continue doing something that is at best embarrassing. This is a challenging question and one that has caused each child to ponder what they know, what they know to be true about the emperor, and to consider what might be worse than parading without clothing.

"Why would the emperor do that?" asks James with a certain amount of indignity.
Why indeed? I think.

III.

In all the boisterous talk that follows, it is the quiet utterance that is most important to hear. Marc says the single word, dignity, in response to what the emperor loses. His statement catches the ears of his peers and they begin a heated discussion about the emperor, his relationship with his subjects, and how his actions protect his job, but cost him the respect of his subjects. I physically sit back in the chair as I know they will wrangle with this question and no longer need the language I was loaning them.  Now that language is too bulky, too much in the way. They have found their own words and are trying out some big ideas, such as:

• The emperor is a bad leader. He cares only about himself.
• He cares more about keeping his job than being honest with his citizens.
• The emperor is not courageous.
• The emperor would rather be without clothes than have his advisers think he is unfit for his job.
• The emperor is not honest.
• The emperor knows he is lying.
• The emperor has lost his dignity.
• The emperor has lost his money and he won't say anything to the swindlers because he has to keep up the lie.

IV.

I listen and when there is a lull in the conversation I ask the children, "Do you think if you reread the book tomorrow and talked a bit more about why the emperor makes the final decision to continue parading without clothes that you might be able to write a response to question 3?"  They wear big smiles on top of their confidence and nod their heads indicating, yes. I next ask them: "Would you agree to allow your teacher to send me what you write as I'll be in Boston tomorrow? I'd like to read what you had to say." Again, they indicate yes.

At that moment, it's almost as if their collective confidence was a living thing in the room alongside us. It's big. Present. Powerful. And I know they have caught fire when the school day ends and they will not leave the classroom.  Thirty minutes later and they are still trying to figure out where they can get their hands on copies of the book and other stories by Hans Christian Anderson so they can read it again at home. Juliana tells me she's going to go to the library as soon as her mom can take her.

"You can take out the book and they let you keep it for ten whole days," she tells me as only an 8-year-old can sound.  I listen and make a silent nod of thanks that we still have public libraries in our country.

Others in the group are already planning to borrow the book so they can bring it home to read again. And they look to their teacher who lets the know this is possible.  I listen as they finally leave the classroom and notice that they are continuing the conversation about the emperor and his lack of leadership on their own as they make their way down the long hallway.

V.

Learning requires the space to be wrong--as does good teaching. This shift from more traditional approaches to guided reading to guiding children's reading through conversation is challenging and necessary. When the teachers ask how they might best prepare for such conversations we talk about reading the text carefully, sharing your perspective with another teacher, preparing, asking, and answering good questions, recognizing that the conversation will take twists you did not plan for, and becoming comfortable as the lesson will not turn out the way you may have intended as the lesson no longer rests solely in your hands.

The learning is a made thing that happens among people. This is a liberating truth: the work that is made does not and cannot rest solely in the hands of the teacher. This is, in part, what makes it so powerful.

Imagining A to Z: E is for Engage

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E is For Engage (with Earth Friendly Books)

One way to engender an imaginative life is to read. Here's a list of earth friendly children's books to get you started. E is also for enjoy.

Appelhof, Mary. 2006. Worms Eat My Garbage: How to Set Up and Maintain a Worm Composting System. Illustrated by Mary F. Fenton. Kalamazoo, MI: Flower Press.

Asch, Frank. 2008. The Earth and I. New York: Sandpiper.

Baker, Jeannie. 2004. Home. New York: Greenwillow.

Bang, Molly & Penny Chisholm. 2009. Living Sunlight: How Plants Bring The Earth to Life. New York: Blue Sky Press.

Bang, Molly. 1997. Common Ground: The Water, Earth andAir We Share. New York: Blue Sky Press.

Berger, Melvin. 1994. Oil Spill. Illustrated by Paul Mirocha. New York: HarperCollins.

Bial, Raymond. 2000. A Handful of Dirt. New York: Walker & Company.

Bouler, Olivia. 2011. Olivia’s Birds: Saving the Gulf. Sterling.

Bruchac, Joseph. 2009. Rachel Carson: Preserving a Sense of Wonder. Illustrated by Thomas Locker. Fulcrum.

Burns, Loree Griffin. 2010. Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion. New York: Sandpiper.

Catchpool, Michael. 2012. The Cloud Spinner. Illustrated by Alison Jay. New York: Knopf.

The Cloud Spinner

Cherry, Lynne & Gary Braasch. 2010. How We Know What We Know about Our Changing Climate: Scientists and Kids Explore Global Warming. Nevada City, CA: Dawn Publications.

Cherry, Lynne. 2004. The Sea, The Storm, and the Mangrove Tangle. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

Cherry, Lynne. 2002. A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History. New York: Sandpiper.

Cherry, Lynne. 2000. The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest. New York: Sandpiper.

Chin, Jason. 2009. Redwoods. New York: Flashpoint.

from Energy Island: How One Community Harnessed the Wind and Changed their World.

Drummond, Allan. 2011. Energy Island: How One Community Harnessed the Wind and Changed their World. New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux.

Foreman, Michael. 2004. One World. Andersen Press.

French, Vivian. 2010. Yucky Worms. Illustrated by Jessica Ahlberg. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

Galbraith, Kathryn. 2010. Arbor Day Square. Illustrated by Cyd Moore. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree.

Gibbons, Gail. 1996. Recycle! A Handbook for Kids. New York: Little, Brown.

Glaser, Linda. 2002. Our Big Home. Illustrated by Elisa Kleven. Minneapolis MN: Millbrook.

Hall, Julie. 2007. A Hot Planet Needs Cool Kids: Understanding Climate Change and What You Can Do About It. Illustrated by Sarah Lane. Green Goat Books.

Hooper, Meredith. 2008. Drop in My Drink. London: Frances Lincoln Books.

Jenkins, Martin. 2011. Can We Save the Tiger? Illustrated by Vicki White. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

Koontz, Robin. 2007. Composting: Nature’s Recyclers. Illustrated by Matthew Harrad. Picture Window Books.

Kooser, Ted. 2012. House Held Up by Trees. Illustrated by Jon Klassen. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.

Kooser, Ted. 2010. Bag in the Wind. Illustrated by Barry Root. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.

Kowalski, Gary. 2009. Earth Day: An Alphabet Book. Illustrated by Rocco Baviera. Skinner House.

Kamkwamba, William. 2012. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. Illustrated by  Elizabeth Zunon. New York: Dial.

Lasky, Kathryn. 2008. John Muir: America’s First Environmentalist. Illustrated by Stan Fellows. Cambridge. MA: Candlewick Press.

Lloyd, Jennifer. 2007. Looking for Loons. Illustrated by Kristi Anne Wakelin. Vancouver, BC: Simply Read Books.

Locker, Thomas. 2010. John Muir: America’s Naturalist. Golden, CO: Fulcrum Press.

McDonnell, Patrick. 2011. Me…Jane. New York: Little, Brown.

Müller, Jörg. 1982. The Sea People. New York: Schocken Books.

Nivola, Claire A. 2012. Life in the Ocean: The Story of Oceanographer Sylvia Earle. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

Okimoto, Jean Davies. 2007. Winston of Churchill: One Bear’s Battle Against Global Warming. Sasquatch Books.

Parr, Todd. 2010. The Earth Book. New York: Little, Brown.

Peet, Bill. 1981. Wump World. New York: Sandpiper.

Portman, Michelle Eva. 2002. Compost, By Gosh! Kalamazoo, MI: Flower Press.

Preus, Margi. 2011. Celebritrees: Historic and Famous Trees of the World. Illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon. New York: Henry Holt.

Rand, Gloria. 1994. Prince William. Illustrated by Ted Rand. New York: Henry Holt.

Schaefer, Lola M. 2004. Arrowhawk. Illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska. New York: Henry Holt.

Seuss, Dr. 1971. The Lorax. New York: Random House.

Siddals, Mary McKenna. 2010.  Compost Stew. Illustrated by Ashley Wolff. San Francisco, CA: Tricycle Press.

Steiner, Jörg. 2007. The Bear Who Wanted to Be a Bear. Illustrated by Jörg Müller. Alhambra, CA: Heryin Books.

Straus, Rochelle. 2007. One Well: The Story of Water on Earth. Illustrated by Rosemary Woods. Kids Can Press.

Straus, Rochelle. 2004. Tree of Life: Incredible Biodiversity on Earth. Illustrated by Margot Thomason. Tonawanda, NY: Kids Can Press.

Thornhill, Jan. 2007. This Is My Planet: The Kids’ Guide to Global Warming. Berkeley, CA:Maple Tree Press.

Van Allsburg, Chris. 2011. Just a Dream (reprint). New York: Sandpiper.

Wadsworth, Ginger 2009. Camping with the President. Illustrated by Karen Dugan. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press.

Weller, Duncan. 2007. The Boy from the Sun. Vancouver, BC: Simply Read Books.

Wiesner, David. 2006. Flotsam.  New York: Clarion.

Winter, Jeanette. 2011. The Watcher: Jane Goodall’s Life with the Chimps. New York: Schwarz & Wade.

Winter, Jeanette. 2008. Wangari’s Trees: A True Story from Africa. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.

Winter, Jonah. 2010. Here Comes the Garbage Barge. Illustrated by Red Nose Studio. New York: Schwarz & Wade.

Wong, Janet S. 2007. The Dumpster Diver. Illustrated by David Roberts. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.

Yezerski, Thomas F. 2011. Meadowlands: A Wetlands Survival Story. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

Yolen, Jane. 1995. Letting Swift River Go. Illustrated by Barbara Cooney. New York: Little, Brown.

          Note: In this series of post during the month of April, I am participating in the A to Z blogging challenge, with each day focusing on a letter.  In order to bring some cohesion to this process--releasing the imagination is the focus of each post.